Yoshiki's 18th Birthday
by YogurtPanda
Summary: Yoshiki isn't one to celebrate birthdays, but Satoshi has something in plan for his friend. It involves getting a certain someone to tag along. Will the plan work or will it fail? Yoshiki x Ayumi. Using the CP: Musume characters. You don't have to read the manga in order to read the story.
1. The Plan

I'm using the manga version of the characters from CP: Musume. I don't think the characters change much in the manga, personality-wise, but I think the Yoshiki from CP: Musume is a little more self-centered and obsessed with Ayumi. Well, maybe not obsessed, but he certainly wants her all to himself. I think he would only be considered obsessed if he had a bunch of pictures of her stored in his phone or something.

Anyway, I like the character designs in CP: Musume, so I decided to use the characters from the manga instead of the usual characters from the PSP games. So Seiko, Mayu and Morishige won't be in this story. Also Miyu and Yuka aren't in this story either. It's mostly based around Yoshiki x Ayumi and Satoshi x Naomi.

Feel free to review!

**Note: Certain emote faces don't show up, so I put [insert] so you know what I mean. Also, text conversation are in **_italics_**. There are no thoughts in this chaper. **

~YogurtPanda

* * *

Satoshi and Yoshiki were having a conversation about Yoshiki's 18th birthday, which was tomorrow.

**Satoshi:**_ "Hey Yoshiki, your birthday is tomorrow! Hopefully you'll become more of a man! XD" _

**Yoshiki:**_ "You're one to talk. Have you even gone all the way with Naomi yet? ;)" _

**Satoshi:**_ [insert shocked blushing face] "I… I have no idea what you're talking about…"_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Oh come on. Haven't you ever wondered what it be like to see her fully unclothed? Being able to touch her soft, round, plump…" _

**Satoshi:**_ "Not listening!" "Anyway, stop going off topic. We have more important matters to discuss, like your birthday."_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Birthdays aren't important. My parents never cared for mine, so I don't bother with celebrating." _

**Satoshi:**_ "Yoshiki…" [insert sad face]_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Don't be sorry for me, Satoshi. It doesn't matter anymore." "I've accepted that no one loves me in this world. My existence was a mistake. I'm surprised I haven't tied a noose around my neck at this point." _

**Satoshi:**_ "That's because you have something to live for." [insert smiley face] _

**Yoshiki:**_ "What exactly would that something be?" _

**Satoshi:**_ "Shinozaki." _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Shinozaki doesn't even know I exist."_

**Satoshi:**_ "What do you mean?"_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Are you blind? She only likes you." "No matter how many times I'm there for her, it's always: "Mochida-kun this and Mochida-kun that"." "I wish she would stop thinking about you and think about me for a change." *sigh* "But I know that won't happen because I'm not like you…" _

**Satoshi:**_ "I'm sorry, Yoshiki…" "I know you've had a thing for Shinozaki since that day she stood up for you against Coach Tsubota." "She just needs to get to know you better. I'm sure she'll fall in love with you if you two had a chance to be alone."_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Good luck with that. Shinozaki would never want to be alone with me nor go anywhere with me. The only way she'd go somewhere with me is if you tagged along." _

**Satoshi:**_ "That's it!" :D_

**Yoshiki:**_ "Huh? What are you talking about, Mochida?" _

**Satoshi:**_ "I'm not telling. You'll find out tomorrow" [insert cat grin face] _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Oh great, surprises. It better not be something lame." _

**Satoshi:**_ "Oh I assure you, it won't be anything lame." _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Better not be or else I'll tell Naomi you were fantasizing about her breasts." _

**Satoshi:**_ 'Y-You wouldn't!" _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Oh I would. I'd love to see her beat the crap out of you." [insert evil cat grin face]_

**Satoshi:**_ "You're so mean…" [insert crying face] _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Nah, I love teasing you, Mochida." "Anyway, I gotta go. It's time for me to head to work." _

**Satoshi:**_ "Ah ok, later then!" _

**Yoshiki:**_ "Later." _

* * *

Satoshi started a new message in his cellphone. He selected Naomi's name and began to type up his message.

**Satoshi: **_"Hey Naomi, what are you up to? [insert smiley face]_

After a few seconds, Naomi responded to his message.

**Naomi: **_"Oh hey Satoshi! Nothing much, just drying off after a nice warm shower." _

Satoshi felt his face heat up as he imagined Naomi's body wrapped in a small towel. He could picture Naomi trying to hold the towel in place as it started to slip a little.

Yoshiki was right. Satoshi was fantasizing about Naomi. He felt a little guilty, having such dirty images being shown in his mind. Satoshi wasn't a pervert or anything, but he was curious about Naomi's body.

A small beep went off, breaking Satoshi out of his thoughts. Naomi had sent another message.

**Naomi:** _"Are you having dirty thoughts about me?" [insert pouting face]_

**Satoshi:** _"O-Of course not! I'm not that kind of guy, Naomi!"_

**Naomi: **_"So you don't think about me at all?" [insert sad face] _

**Satoshi: **_"I think about you all the time, Naomi. When I can't see you for even a second, that's all I ever think about." "Your laugh; your smile; your scent; the way you yell at me…" _

**Naomi: ***giggle* _"You sure think about a lot of things, Satoshi." [insert smiley face]_

**Satoshi: **_"That's because I love you, Naomi." [insert a heart]_

**Naomi: **_"I love you too, Satoshi." [insert a heart]_

**Satoshi: **_"Hey Naomi, would you like to go somewhere with me tomorrow?" _

**Naomi: **_"Isn't tomorrow Yoshiki's birthday?" _

**Satoshi: **_"Yep, but I have a plan to make sure he has the best birthday ever. That's where you and I come in."_

**Naomi: **_"Let me guess, we need to bring in Ayumi so Yoshiki can be all alone with her." _

**Satoshi: **_"How did you know?" _

**Naomi: **_"It's no mystery that Yoshiki is crushing hard on Ayumi. I've seen the way he looks at her."_

**Satoshi: **_"So you'll help me get them alone?" _

**Naomi: **_"Of course! Yoshiki is your friend and he deserves a wonderful birthday." "Plus I want Ayumi to start dating already. I think she took the rejection hard…" _

**Satoshi: **_"Yeah…" "Even though she didn't cry or anything, I'm sure something in her died…"_

**Naomi: **_"Satoshi…." [insert sad face]_

**Satoshi: **_"Am I a horrible person, Naomi?" _

**Naomi: **_"Of course not, Satoshi! You're really wonderful." _

**Satoshi: **_"You're the wonderful one, Naomi." [insert smiley face]_

**Naomi: **_"Anyway, back to the matter at hand. How are we going to get those two alone?" _

**Satoshi: **_"Ok, here's what we do." _

The plan was to get Yoshiki and Ayumi alone together. The only way to do that was for Satoshi and Naomi to tag along with them. Naomi and Satoshi would pretend they were running late in order to get Yoshiki and Ayumi by themselves. Throughout the day, Satoshi and Naomi would check on them to see how they were progressing.

They planned a whole day of activities for the two. First, they would go to a shrine to pray. Then they would stop by the aquarium. After that, they would get something to eat. Then they would go the amusement park and finish up with a movie. Naomi suggested a horror movie in order to get Ayumi all over Yoshiki.

**Satoshi: **_"Well, I think that's everything. Sounds like a good day to me!" "What do you think, Naomi?"_

**Naomi: **_"What about the cake and fireworks?"_

**Satoshi: **_"I can understand the cake, but why the fireworks?" _

**Naomi: **_"It just seems like a really romantic way to end Yoshiki's birthday. We can buy a small bag of fireworks and purchase a small cake for Yoshiki after the movie!"_

**Satoshi:** _"Well, I guess that would be sort of romantic. Ok Naomi, I'll leave you in charge of the last thing!"_

**Naomi:** _"Awesome! You won't regret this, Satoshi!"_

**Satoshi:** _"I'm sure I won't. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Naomi."_

**Naomi:** _"Me too, Satoshi."_

The two said goodnight and went on to writing their messages to their friends. Satoshi was in charge of making sure Yoshiki came and Naomi was in charge of Ayumi.

* * *

Here is Satoshi's message:

_Hey Yoshiki, _

"_Naomi and I planned an entire special day for you! Would you like to join us?" "If you do, I have a wonderful surprise for you and it's totally not lame!" "Meet us at the shrine at 7am sharp and don't be late!" _

* * *

Here is Naomi's message:

_Hey Ayumi,_

"_Satoshi and I are going to celebrate Yoshiki's birthday tomorrow together. Would you like to come with us?" "I know Yoshiki isn't your favorite person, but it would really mean a lot to him if you came." "We're going to do a lot of fun things together, so what do you say?" "Meet us at the shrine tomorrow at 7am sharp and don't be __late!" "I hope you'll be there!"_

* * *

Yoshiki said he would come, but he had his suspicions about what Satoshi mean about a surprise. Ayumi said she would come along, since Satoshi and Naomi were going. She had a gift for Yoshiki, which surprised Naomi, being that Yoshiki wasn't Ayumi's favorite person. She wanted Ayumi to tell her what is was, but Ayumi kept it a secret. She was going to give it to Yoshiki later in the day.

So far, everything looked good. Yoshiki and Ayumi were going to come. Now the question was: "Would Satoshi and Naomi be able to get those two alone together?".


	2. To the Shrine

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. Lots of moments in this one. Hope you enjoy!

~YogurtPanda

* * *

Chapter 2: To the Shrine

Yoshiki yawned as he continued up the trail to the shrine's entrance. He didn't understand why the entrance was way at the top when they were usually at the bottom. Satoshi said to be there at 7:00 am, so Yoshiki woke up a little early to make sure he was on time. He didn't pick anything fancy to wear, just a basic dark green light jacket; a white collared shirt with a red tie; black pants; and dark brown shoes. Why he wore a tie, he didn't know. Maybe he wanted to look decent since Satoshi was bringing Naomi along.

"_I wonder what the surprise could be."_ Yoshiki thought.

An image of Ayumi flashed in his mind and Yoshiki clicked his tongue.

"Yeah right, there's no way she-"

Yoshiki paused as he saw a girl with blue hair waiting by the entrance. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a black sleeveless jumper over it; black shorts; black knee-high socks and black shoes. She carried a beige tote bag in her hands. Her hair was styled in pigtails, just like Ayumi. The girl glanced towards Yoshiki, emitting a small gasp as she ran towards him.

"Kishinuma-kun, you're here!" Ayumi said, happily.

Yoshiki felt paralyzed. In his mind he wanted to run, but his body stood still like a rock. Each step that Ayumi came closer; his heart would race faster with each second inside his chest. Yoshiki gripped his shirt as he breathing became uneven.

"_Why do I feel so breathless…?" "It's not like I'm in love with her or anything." _

Yoshiki was lying to himself. Of course he was in love with Ayumi. He loved her ever since that faithful day they first met. There wasn't a day he didn't think about her. She was the reason he came to school every day and worked hard towards graduation. If it wasn't for Ayumi, Yoshiki would feel purposeless.

Ayumi noticed Yoshiki's breathing sounded weird and quickly approached him.

"Kishinuma-kun, are you alright?!"

Yoshiki looked up slightly to see those blue eyes he loved so much. They greeted him every morning when he walked into class and said goodbye when it was time to head home. However, no matter how hard he tried, those eyes would never see him in the way he saw her.

Yoshiki pulled Ayumi towards him, hugging her gently in his arms.

"I'm really glad you came, Shinozaki..."

Ayumi could feel how warm Yoshiki was and blushed softly before moving away.

"It was nothing, Kishinuma-kun…" Ayumi said, holding one arm with her hand. "Birthdays are better when you have friends to celebrate with."

Yoshiki smiled before extending his hand out to her.

"Shall we get going?"

Ayumi hesitated before slowly placing her hand in Yoshiki's. This surprised Yoshiki at first, but he decided not to waste time and proceeded up the steps with Ayumi. The stairs were very steep and required caution since there were a few broken ones. Holding hands was recommended if people were in a group of two or more people. Single visitors could use the rails on either side of the stairs to get to the shrine.

After the stairs, you had to walk down another path in order to fully get to the shrine. There were benches nearby in case people wanted to rest. Yoshiki and Ayumi decided to take a small break before proceeding. Unknowingly to the two, they were being watched by their fellow classmates. Satoshi and Naomi hid in the forests on either side of the trail, keeping a close eye on the two.

"Looks like everything is going good so far…" Satoshi whispered to Naomi.

"I didn't expect them to hold hands so quickly!" Naomi said, surprised.

Satoshi looked to Naomi's right hand and blushed slightly as he held her hand with his left. Naomi glanced to Satoshi, seeing him smile at her.

"There's no reason we can't be romantic too, Naomi."

"Satoshi…" Naomi said, smiling at him.

The two moved a bit closer to each other before continuing to spy on Yoshiki and Ayumi.

* * *

"I wonder what's taking those two so long…" Yoshiki sighed.

"Naomi told me she and Mochida-kun were going to be running late." Ayumi said.

"I see…" Yoshiki responded. "I wish I would've known that before climbing up here…"

Yoshiki heard Ayumi giggle, making him feel embarrassed.

"It's not funny, Shinozaki…" Yoshiki pouted.

He heard Ayumi reach into her bag and pull out a water bottle.

"Here, you must be thirsty." She said with a smile.

Yoshiki noticed the bottle was half empty and a spark went off in his head.

"_Shinozaki's water bottle…" "Her lips are on that bottle…." _

Yoshiki gulped as he slowly reached out to take it.

Ayumi then realized something and moved the water bottle away from Yoshiki. She took out a new one from her bag.

"I forgot I drunk from that one. You can have this one, Kishinuma-kun."

Yoshiki felt something die inside him as he took the new water bottle from Shinozaki's hands.

"Y-You brought two I see…" Yoshiki said, staring at the water bottle with sad eyes.

"Yeah, I always bring an extra one with me on days like this." Ayumi said, swinging her feet.

"_I really wanted to kiss her, even if it wasn't a direct one…." _Yoshiki thought.

He took off his glasses and placed them in his shirt pocket. He began to take a sip from the water bottle, noticing Ayumi was staring at him with interest. Yoshiki lowered the water bottle before wiping his mouth.

"Is there something on my face, Shinozaki?"

Ayumi blushed slightly and looked towards left, away from Yoshiki.

"I've never seen you without your glasses before…"

Yoshiki ran a hand through his black hair before sliding a bit closer towards Ayumi.

"…Which way do you like better?" he asked, quietly.

Ayumi gripped the strap of her tote bag slightly.

"Well… I like…"

Before Ayumi could answer, she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder, making her shriek and hold Yoshiki's arm out of fear.

"Ayumi, what's wrong?!" Yoshiki asked, seeing her look frightened.

"S-Someone's behind me…." Ayumi whimpered.

"Are you sure?" Yoshiki asked, looking around them.

Ayumi nodded, holding Yoshiki's arm tighter. Yoshiki couldn't help but blush a little, seeing Ayumi hold onto him in such a protective way.

"_She's so cute…" _

Yoshiki threw on a serious look before arising from the bench.

"Whoever is touching Shinozaki, show yourself!" Yoshiki yelled. "No one touches her except me!"

"Oh, did you hear that, Naomi?" Satoshi said.

"That's quite a statement I'll say." Naomi giggled.

Ayumi looked to see Satoshi and Naomi walking towards them.

"Mochida-kun…? Nakashima-san….?"

"Hey Shinozaki, Yoshiki, sorry we're late." Satoshi said, laughing nervously.

"What do you mean sorry?!" "We've been waiting for hours!" Yoshiki yelled, grabbing Satoshi by the shirt. "Why the heck did you pick this shrine with the extremely long trail?"

"No reason…" Satoshi said, whistling innocently.

"It's ok, Kishinuma-kun. I didn't mind waiting at all." Ayumi said, placing her hand on his shoulder gently.

"Shinozaki…" Yoshiki said, letting go of Satoshi and looking towards her.

Satoshi and Naomi smiled to each other before looking back to Yoshiki and Ayumi.

"Now that we're all here, let's head up to the shrine." Satoshi said, looking to everyone. "Naomi, let's go."

Naomi nodded and walked beside Satoshi towards the shrine. Yoshiki reached into his shirt pocket for his glasses and unfolded them.

"You called me by my first name..." Ayumi said, standing near to Yoshiki.

Yoshiki put on his glasses and looked to Ayumi.

"Ah Shinozaki, I'm sorry…" he bowed in apology. "I didn't mean to…"

Ayumi blushed, rubbing her foot against the dirt.

"I don't mind it…" she said, quietly, running off to join the others.

Yoshiki scratched his cheek with his index finger as he watched Ayumi run off.

"Did I do something?"

* * *

Once at the shrine with the others, everyone threw a coin into the offerings box. Satoshi pulled on the rope, ringing the bell once. Everyone bowed twice; clapped their hands twice; and closed their eyes as they made their wish.

**Naomi:** _"I wish for Yoshiki and Ayumi to become good friends…." _

**Satoshi:** _"I wish for Yoshiki to have a wonderful birthday…""He really deserves it." _

Yoshiki was still pondering about what to wish for. He didn't want to seem greedy or selfish. Yoshiki opened one of his eyes and looked to Ayumi, who was making her wish. Yoshiki felt his cheeks heat up looking at Ayumi's smile.

"_I wonder what Shinozaki is wishing for…?" _

Yoshiki noticed Ayumi was finishing up and quickly looked away closing his eyes. He still pondered over what to wish for until he finally decided.

"_I wish that I could always spend time like this with Shinozaki…" "Even if she doesn't have feelings for me, just seeing her at school every day and spending time like this is all I could ask for."_

Both Ayumi and Yoshiki bowed at the same time before arising. The two looked to each other and smiled. Naomi and Satoshi looked to each other lovingly before walking hand in hand back down the hill. Ayumi and Yoshiki walked together behind the two. Yoshiki had his hands in his pockets while Ayumi held her tote bag over her shoulder.

"What did you wish for, Kishinuma-kun?" Ayumi whispered, looking up towards Yoshiki.

"Oh umm…" Yoshiki blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's really cheesy…" "What about you, Shinozaki?" "I bet you wished to become the greatest illustrator in all of Japan."

Ayumi shook her head from side to side, smiling as a pink hue came to her cheeks.

"It's a secret…" she said, softly.

The two approached the stairs and held hands as they slowly descended down.

"It's a bit harder coming down…" Yoshiki grunted. "Be really careful, Shinozaki."

Ayumi nodded, making sure not to let go of Yoshiki's hand. As she reached a certain step, her foot slipped, making her fall forward. Yoshiki quickly pulled her towards him, holding her in a protective embrace.

"Are you alright?" Yoshiki asked.

"I think so…" Ayumi said, holding onto Yoshiki's shirt.

The two looked to each other briefly, before hearing Naomi and Satoshi call out to them.

"Are you guys ok!?" Satoshi yelled from below.

"We're fine! We'll be down there in a bit!" Yoshiki yelled back.

Yoshiki let Ayumi go before taking her hand, continuing down the stairs slowly. Once they finally reached the bottom, Yoshiki sighed of relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright, class rep!" Naomi said, tearing up a bit.

"Nakashima-san, if you cry I'm going to cry too…" Ayumi said, sniffing a bit.

"There, there, no crying. It's Yoshiki's birthday after all. You don't want him to see you two crying do you?" Satoshi said, smiling at them.

The girls shook their heads wiping away their tears quickly.

"Alright, next stop is the aquarium. Shall we get going?"

The girls made an "mmm!" sound in agreement.

"Alright, let's get going then." Satoshi said, beginning to walk down the trail.

Naomi and Ayumi followed after, but Yoshiki stayed behind as he was trying to find something. Ayumi noticed this and went back towards him.

"Kishinuma-kun, what's wrong?"

"The water bottle…" Yoshiki sighed, shifting his glasses. "I must have left it near the benches."

"You can always get a new one at the vending machine." Ayumi suggested.

"Yeah, but… you gave it to me, Shinozaki." "I couldn't ignore something like that…"

"Kishinuma-kun…" Ayumi said, softly.

"You should catch up with Mochida and Nakashima-san. I'll join you guys shortly."

Yoshiki began to head back towards the stairs until he felt Ayumi grab his arm.

"I want to come with you…" Ayumi whispered.

"It's a really long way, Shinozaki…" Yoshiki said, turning to her. "Plus the stairs are dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt…"

"Demo…" Ayumi whined.

Yoshiki sighed, taking off his glasses and handing them to Ayumi. He held her by the shoulders gently as he looked into her blue eyes.

"I want you to hold onto those for me." "Once I reach the top of the stairs, I want you to count to twenty." "If I don't return towards the top by the time you reach twenty then…."

Yoshiki watched as Ayumi's eyes began to water up with tears as he was giving her instructions on what to do. Yoshiki stroked her cheek gently.

"I'll be ok, Shinozaki. I'm going to come back for you I swear. Then we can go to the aquarium together with Satoshi and Naomi."

Ayumi wiped her eyes as she sniffed a little.

"…Cross your heart?"

Yoshiki smiled and made an x over his heart.

"If I come back too late, I'll buy you lunch after the aquarium. It's a promise."

Ayumi watched as Yoshiki took off his jacket and handed it to her. He then hurried towards the stairs, making sure to hold onto the rail as he proceeded up. Once he reached the top he looked to Ayumi and nodded. Ayumi watched as he disappeared towards the path and began counting.

"1… 2… 3… 4… 5…"

As Ayumi continued counting, she prayed that Yoshiki was alright. She felt her body starting to tremble a bit, fearing that something bad would happen to him. She shook away such thoughts and focused on counting.

"12… 13…. 14…"

She heard someone yell out to her and looked towards the stairs to see Yoshiki waving to her. In right hand (left from Ayumi's view) was the water bottle that she gave him. Ayumi watched as Yoshiki began to descend down the stairs. She hurried to the last step so she could meet him when he got down. When Yoshiki got to the second to last step, he jumped off, his feet touching the dirt ground beneath him. He stretched his arms over his head as he look to Ayumi with a smirk.

"I told you I'd come back."

Tears began to build up in Ayumi's eyes again and she launched herself at Yoshiki, knocking him down on his bottom.

"Shinozaki, what's the matter!?' Yoshiki asked, surprised at the sudden action.

"Don't ever scare me like that…." Ayumi sobbed.

Yoshiki watched as Ayumi leaned her forehead against his chest as tears escaped her eyes.

"Idiot… It was only a water bottle..."

Yoshiki smiled warmly at Ayumi, letting her tears fall on his shirt.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Shinozaki..." "I won't ever do that again."

He rubbed Ayumi's head as she began to cry louder.

"Don't hold back." Yoshiki whispered. "I'm right here."

* * *

After Ayumi finished crying, the two hurried back down the trail to see Satoshi and Naomi waiting for them.

"Where were you guys?" Naomi asked, looking a bit upset.

"I had to go back and get something." Yoshiki said, giving a nervous chuckle.

"Are you sure that's what you did?" Satoshi asked.

Yoshiki gave Satoshi a death glare. "What are you getting at, Mochida?"

"I'm not getting at anything!" Satoshi said, hiding behind Naomi.

Ayumi giggled as she looked to her friends.

"We should get going if want to make the aquarium."

The others nodded and proceeded towards the train station. Ayumi remembered she had Yoshiki's glasses in her hand and handed them back to him. Yoshiki thanked her and put them back on.

"Good idea, leaving Yoshiki's water bottle there, Naomi." Satoshi whispered.

"Everything is going good so far, let's keep it up!" Naomi whispered back, giggling.

"Are you two flirting again?" Yoshiki said in an annoyed tone.

"Of course we aren't!" Satoshi and Naomi yelled.

Ayumi smiled as she looked down to her tote bag. She remembered the wish she made at the shrine.

"_I wish that I can become closer to Yoshiki-kun…" _


	3. Coffee Break

Sorry for the long wait everyone. I've been busy with school. I was off today due to a staff development day, so I able to work on Chapter 3 for this story.

Thank you to those who have recently followed and reviewed. I really appreciate it. (:

~YogurtPanda

* * *

Chapter 3: Coffee Break

Yoshiki gave a loud yawn as he waited with his friends near the waiting dock for the train that was heading to the aquarium. He wasn't used to waking up super early, being it birthdays at that. School didn't even start around this time! Plus the wind was starting to become a bit cooler, causing Yoshiki to shiver a little. Was this Satoshi's plan? Was this payback for teasing him on the phone?

"Kishinuma-kun, are you alright?"

Yoshiki instantly remembered Ayumi was with him and turned to look at her. Her blue eyes looked to him in concern. Yoshiki felt his heart skip a bit every time he looked at Ayumi. He was glad she hadn't scolded him yet, but tried not to become too excited. He knew if he slipped up or said something "offensive", she would start going into "class rep mode" and lecture him to death. The last thing Yoshiki wanted was a lecture, especially on his birthday.

"I'm alright, Shinozaki. I guess I haven't completely woken up yet." Yoshiki said.

"I saw some vending machines earlier as we came in. There were various coffee drinks in one of them." Satoshi said.

"Ah… great! Coffee will surely wake me up!" Yoshiki said, relived. "I'll be right back!"

Yoshiki began to run off towards the train station's entrance in pursuit of coffee.

"Satoshi, has Kishinuma-kun been to this train station before?" Naomi asked.

Satoshi's eyes widened in realization and he brought a hand to his forehead.

"Crap… I messed up…" "I should probably go after him."

"I'll go!" Ayumi volunteered. "You stay here with Nakashima-san."

"Are you sure, Shinozaki? I don't want to trouble you…"

"I don't mind. Plus, I wanted to get some milk coffee now that you mentioned the vending machines."

"Well, if you're sure…" Satoshi said, still feeling guilty about letting Ayumi go after Yoshiki.

"It'll be fine! Don't be such a worry-wart, Mochida-kun!" Ayumi said, teasingly. "We'll be back before the train gets here."

With that, Ayumi waved to her friends before running off after Yoshiki.

Naomi and Satoshi watched as Ayumi disappeared into the crowds. Once she was out of sight, the two looked to each other, giggling secretly.

* * *

Yoshiki stopped to catch his breath. He had run and walked for what seemed like hours. This wasn't a train station he had been to before and forgot to ask Satoshi for directions. Of course Yoshiki had his cellphone with him, but he wasn't going to let Satoshi tease him about getting lost. It was a matter of pride!

Yoshiki sighed and sat on a nearby bench to rest.

_"I could really use a guide right now..."_

"Kishinuma-kun! Thank goodness..." Yoshiki heard a familiar voice say above him.

Yoshiki looked up slowly to see Ayumi standing in front of him. She was panting heavily as if she had run a great deal just to get to him.

After Ayumi caught her breath, she began to speak again.

"I'm glad I found you..." "Who knows what would've happened if we got separated or left you behind." A faint blush came to Ayumi's cheeks. "If anything were to happen to you I..."

Yoshiki felt his heart skip a beat and the heat rush to his face, but quickly hid it by covering his face in his hands.

_"Why did you have to say it like that?..." "Dammit Shinozaki..." _

Ayumi noticed Yoshiki covered his face in his hands and became concerned.

"Kishinuma-kun...? What's wrong?"

_"You're so darn cute is what's wrong." _Yoshiki responded in his thoughts. _"Why are you here and not with Satoshi? He's the one you should be worrying about..."_

"Ne, Kishinuma-kun..." Ayumi whined, softly. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Yoshiki pulled himself together and peeked from his hands at Ayumi. He noticed she was looking at him with a cute pouting expression. Yoshiki smiled secretly before standing up from the bench, stretching his arms above his head.

"Well, now that I've been rescued, let's go get that coffee and head back to the others."

Yoshiki stuck his hands inside his pockets and began to walk off, leaving a confused Ayumi. Yoshiki stopped momentarily, looking back at Ayumi over his shoulder.

"Aren't you coming, Shinozaki?"

"..." Ayumi grabbed her tote bag, putting in over her shoulder and began to walk with Yoshiki to the vending machines. Yoshiki noticed Ayumi looked a little disappointed and asked her what was wrong, only to get yelled at in the process.

_"Am I... bothering Kishinuma-kun...?"_ Ayumi thought.

Once the two made it to the vending machines, Yoshiki proceeded in getting his coffee. Ayumi waited near the train's entrance, making sure to stay out-of-the-way of people coming in and out. She wanted to get a milk coffee, but she didn't feel up to it now.

She felt something cold being placed on top of her head, snapping her out of her thoughts and sending a shiver down her spine. She looked up to see Yoshiki standing in front of her.

"Do you like strawberries, Shinozaki?" Yoshiki asked.

"Eh?" "Well, I don't dislike them..." Ayumi responded.

She heard Yoshiki make a relived sigh.

"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't like it."

"Like it...?"

Ayumi felt the cold thing that was placed upon her head being taken off and brought in front of her. It was a canned strawberry and crème frappucino. They were pretty rare in canned form. The can was a light pink color with white polka-dots and picture of a giant strawberry with sparkling eyes.

"Kawaii!" Ayumi exclaimed, taking the can from Yoshiki.

"It is pretty cute isn't it?' Yoshiki said, giving an idiotic smile. "I got the last one too!"

Ayumi felt tears wield up in her eyes as she continued to look at the can. She brought the can towards her heart, hugging it close to her.

"I wanted to give you something as a thanks for finding me..." Yoshiki said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hope this is ok..."

Ayumi looked up towards Yoshiki, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Thank you, Kishinuma-kun..." Ayumi said, giving him a warm smile.

Yoshiki instantly blushed from Ayumi's smiled and scratched his cheek with his index finger lightly.

"Geez... It's not that special..."

Ayumi giggled and wiped the top of her can. Yoshiki did the same and pulled the tab to open his canned coffee. The can made a _pop_ sound, signaling that it was open and Yoshiki began to take a sip. Ayumi's can followed with a _pop_ sound and she began to take a drink from her can. She sighed happily.

"It's sweet!"

Yoshiki sighed in content as he wiped his mouth with his hand.

"I feel better now."

Ayumi smiled to Yoshiki before looking down at her can. A pink hue came to her cheeks.

"Umm... Kishinuma-kun?"

"Hmm?" Yoshiki said, looking to Ayumi.

"Would you... like to sit together?"

Yoshiki almost choked on his drink from happiness, but he managed to swallow it down.

_"Shinozaki wants to sit with me!?" _

Yoshiki tried to prevent himself from having any dirty fantasies about the ordeal, but that didn't stop him from beaming with happiness.

Yoshiki cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I-I would love to, Shinozaki..."

Ayumi giggled, tucking a strand behind her ear.

"Then it's settled."

The two smiled at each other, unaware that their friends were watching from the shadows.

"So that's where they were." Naomi said, smiling.

"I think they're progressing well." Satoshi said.

Naomi gave a slight nod, making a "mmm!" sound in agreement.

The two went over towards their friends, informing them that the train was due to arrive in a few minutes. Yoshiki and Ayumi finished their drinks and walked with Satoshi and Naomi back to the waiting dock.

The train came down the tracks and stopped in front of them. The group got on board, taking the available seats they could before the train got too crowded. After a few minutes, the train began to push-off down the train tracks, sending the group of friends to their next destination.


End file.
